Learning for Active European Citizenship Starts in Schools

Since the beginning of the modern state and the establishment of mass schools, education has been an important factor that contributes to the strengthening of the ties between political institutions and citizens. The role of education is strengthened by the belief that the lack of civil competences leads to apathetic behaviour of citizens, their low level of engagement and even to distrust of the functioning of democratic institutions. The lack of civil competences presents an obstacle for the active participation of individuals or even of countries engaged in the framework of international organizations. It is clear that only education cannot solve all issues related to the role of active democratic citizen, but it may contribute an important part. This article describes the native and citizenship education in the context of learning about the European dimension of citizenship in Slovenian schools.